TLC: Tender Loving Cooking
by Kamen Rider Chrome
Summary: Jinx, wanting to make something nice for Draco to repay him for his kindness asks Shadowcobra for help in cooking. Results are less than perfect. Way less. Of course knowing Draco...JinxOC


**TLC: Tender Loving Cooking**

When Shadowcobra opened his door after hearing knocking on it, he was a bit surprised to see Jinx standing on the other side of the doorway. "Jinx?" he asked. "What do you want?"

"I've come to ask for help," she said, rubbing her hands together nervously as she looked at him.

"What is it you need?"

"I want to learn how to make a traditional Japanese meal," was her request, which surprised Shadowcobra.

"Why? And why have you asked me for help?" he inquired, curious. Normally, he wouldn't be interested in such a request but it was coming from Jinx. Besides, if this proved to be a waste of time he could just decline and shut the door.

"It's because I want to make something for Ryuki," Jinx said. "He's been so nice to me. Nobody's been so nice to me and I wanted to make something for him to show him my gratitude."

"Just smiling to him is enough, believe me," said Shadowcobra. "You don't have to go through all that trouble."

"He's worth it, which is why I came to you for help," said Jinx.

"Why me? Why not anyone else?"

Jinx listed her reasons, "Cyborg only cooks meat, Starfire cooks alien food, Beast Boy can only cook tofu, Raven can't cook at all, I'm not sure what Terra can cook, Pluto's method of cooking is to pop something into the microwave or instant meals and I can't ask Robin because he's Robin."

"So that leaves me?" Shadowcobra concluded. "What makes you think I'd know how to make a traditional Japanese meal?"

"I don't, but you're my last and only hope." Jinx was practically begging. She clasped her hands together, desperately. "Please…?"

Shadowcobra sighed, "Alright, fine." He added, "But, if we're going to do this, you're going to have to do everything I say."

"Thanks, Shadow," Jinx smiled.

* * *

><p>Shadowcobra put on an apron as Jinx did the same. He was going to teach her how to make a traditional Japanese breakfast which Draco would often make for himself whenever he had a chance to cook breakfast.<p>

"Normally, he would have a bowl of rice, fried fish, a bowl of miso soup, a bowl of fermented soya beans and some vegetables on the side," Shadowcobra explained. "Now, have you ever cooked ride?" Jinx shook her head. "Well, it's a good thing we have a rice cooker so it won't be that hard."

Shadowcobra instructed her. He taught her how to measure the amount of rice that was needed and the water too. He also reminded her to clean the rice with water first before pouring water in water so that it could cook. The next step was easy. All she had to do was to set the machine to cook and it'd do the rest.

"Now, it's time to make the fried fish." He pointed to the fish on the chopping board. "I got you a fresh fish from the market. I want you to gut it, clean it, and then fillet it."

"Right," Jinx picked up the knife. "When you mean gut it…?"

"I mean rich inside and rip out all the innards," he clarified Jinx grimaced. "This is for Draco, remember?"

(LINE BREAK)

* * *

><p>"This is what Draco does whenever he makes breakfast," Shadowcobra told her. "Now, it's time to fry. Put a bit of vegetable oil into the frying pan and spread it around until it covers the pan. Then heat up the pain. Once its ready, put your fish fillets inside the pan. You just need a little vegetable oil. You're going to shallow fry it, not deep fry it."<p>

Jinx nodded and went to work.

* * *

><p>"It's burnt," Jinx frowned as she stared at the burnt fish.<p>

"Low heat," he sighed. "We can salvage this somehow. Can you fry an egg?"

"Of course!" nodded Jinx.

"OK, fry an egg then."

* * *

><p>"You burnt the egg," Shadowcobra observed.<p>

"Sorry!"

"Let's…move on…Miso soup."

* * *

><p>Jinx followed Shadowcobra's instruction on how to make miso soup. She didn't want to fail like she had with the egg and fried fish. Once she was done cooking the miso soup, she poured a bowl for Shadowcobra to taste test.<p>

He suddenly choked and beat his chest.

"That bad?" she asked.

"Bad," he confirmed.

Jinx was upset now. "I…I can't do this! My bad luck is really working against me! I can't even cook a decent breakfast for Ryuki!"

"You're just learning," Shadowcobra reassured her. "You just need practice, that's all."

That was when the door to the common room opened and Draco walked in. He smelled the air. "Was someone cooking?" He walked into the kitchen area and saw Shadowcobra and Jinx at the kitchen stove. "What's going on?" He saw the burnt fish and egg on plates on the counter and he saw the pot of miso soup on the stove. "This is a Japanese breakfast."

"That's right," Shadowcobra said as he gestured to Jinx. "She wanted to make you something to repay you for being so kind to her."

"Jinxy-chan?" he asked. Jinx was wiping tears from her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I'm terrible at cooking!" she cried. "I mean I tried to make you miso soup and it tastes horrible! The fried fish and egg are burnt! There's just rice and it's just the machine that cooked it! Not me!"

Draco blinked and then went to the miso soup. He poured himself a bowl and sipped it. He smacked his lips. Jinx and Shadowcobra stared as he continued to sip on the miso soup.

"Oishi," he uttered sincerely. "This soup's delicious, Jinxy-chan," he smiled.

"Oh, you're just saying that," she denied.

"No, this is good, because you did your best and put your heart into it," he told her. "I can taste the work you put into this soup." He put the bowl down and went to the fish and fried egg. He picked at the fish with a pair of chopsticks. The flesh under the burnt skin wasn't black at all. He tasted a bit. "This fish is good too." He poked at the fried egg and the yolk popped. The yellow liquid ran down the surface of the blackened egg. He tasted it on the tip of his chopsticks. "These are good too."

"Really?" Jinx asked.

"She could use some practice," Shadowcobra remarked. "I'll leave you both alone." He walked away.

"Join me for breakfast?" Draco asked.

Jinx smiled. She knew Draco was just trying to be nice but he was sincere about what he just said. She really did work hard to learnt to cook breakfast for him. Next time, however, she would make it perfectly. Because even if Draco could eat the miso soup, Jinx couldn't handle it and it nearly made her sick with indigestion.


End file.
